Dairy cycle (Maiorchino)

Maiorchino is a typical and precious Sicilian hard cheese, produced above all in Novara di Sicilia.

Each form of Maiorchino is the result of a long and patient procedure, to be followed carefully.

The taste is particularly spicy and very strong, it is produced only from February to June. It starts by filtering raw sheep's milk, to which mixed milk is sometimes added (goat milk for example), collecting everything in a copper container called quarry. After about an hour the curd is broken with a wooden tool (a pitcher) and put it back on the fire, waiting for it to settle on the bottom. Then, when it has become cold, it is collected manually and given a spherical shape before being put to rest in the polite (wooden mold) and then on brick (wooden table). Thus begins the very delicate drilling phase, essential to separate the whey from what will be the final product. The drilling, however, is still done as in the past, that is with the threaten, an iron needle that serves to break the air bubbles that form inside the cheese. In fact, as the cheese deflates, it is gently pressed in order to be compacted; this is the most delicate phase of the entire production process. This is followed by the salting of the Maiorchino, which takes place dry and requires a period of twenty to thirty days. Finally, the aging of Maiorchino is very complex and divided into various phases: for the first two months the cheese is cleaned, rubbed and turned over; from the third month onwards, the treatment with olive oil begins. The average curing time required to obtain a really good Maiorchino is between six and eight months. The seasoning takes place in stone buildings, sometimes underground, cool and humid, equipped with wooden shelves and can last up to twenty-four months. The shape is cylindrical, the rind is amber yellow tending to brown as it ages, the paste is white tending to straw. In the mouth, the herbaceous, floral and fruity aromas characterize this cheese with a strong and spicy taste, especially if aged.